Process and apparatus for treating textile materials



July 26, 1932.

PROCES S AND T. D. AlNsLlE 1,868,513

APPARATUS FOR TREATING TEXTILE MATERIALS Filed May 24, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet l C 0 /v/v: c 7' /o/v. pin-xm URE 75m/PERA 7'0/75' 64065 /ca/vrfozJ Ef?. i 'if 9 Ill-IMI I4 l la 2j\; 7715941044575? lili fili I- fg f7 n l n n 22 llllllnlixllrlQ-u@ l 6 26' 6 t 25' 24 .[8 27 3 INVENTOR.

T. D. AlNsLlE 1,868,513

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING TEXTILE MATERIALS July 26,v 1932.

Filed May 24, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TIOR.

ATTORNEY July 26, 1932. v T. D. AINSLIE 1,868,513

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING TEXTILE MATERIALS Filed May 24, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 PCO/PO//VG THERMO/14E 7E?? CON/VEC 770/8/A THERMO/1457277 R. m n W A TTORNEY Patented July 26, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE THOMAS DOW AINSLIE, OF METUCHEN, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO THE ROESSLER & HASSLACHER CHEMICAL COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOB TREATING TEXTILE MATERIALS Application filed May 24,

The objects of this invention is the improvement of processes and apparatus for use in dyeing, bleaching, scouring and the like, so as to secure uniform treatment at low cost and in short time. As these considerations are especially important in connection with the treating 'of textiles with peroxide bleach baths, I shall describe my invention in terms of its use with these solutions though not limiting its employment to bleaching liquors.

In subjecting textiles to the action of solutions, as in dyeing or bleaching operations, uniform results are de endent upon a uniform treatment. If, or example, in the bleaching of cotton goods with peroxide liquors, the fibres are not evenly penetrated with the treating solution and the entire mass of goods being bleached is not kept at a fairly uniform temperature even results will not be obtained. In extreme cases parts, of the material may be scarcely bleached at all. The source of trouble is usually channeling or the fact that the treating liquor does not percolate evenly through the entire mass of goods. Another reason for poor penetration is that the fabric, yarn or raw stock may be tightly packed so that the mass offers too great a resistance to the liquor; also the pressure exerted by any gas which may be retained within the material may tend to make the goods more buoyant, which considerably hinders complete penetration. Uneven treatment may be readily discovered since the parts of the material which were penetrated last or least will not besas well bleached as the balance of the goods.

Further, since the effective strength of a dyeing or bleaching bath usually decreases .with time and use it is necessary to have all parts of the load thoroughly penetrated at a uniform temperature by the'active liquor as soon as possible after treatment .has begun. Thus, in bleaching with peroxide the strength of the treating liquor is constantly lessening; therefore, complete penetration of the mass must be made within a reasonable time or unevenness is bound to occur, since those parts which are penetrated after the bleaching liquor has lost a large part of its strength or 'available oxygen will not be bleached as 1928. Serial No. 280,219.

for chemicals per pound of goods, and a lower i equipment investment. In arranging any apparatus or equipment to accomplish the desired result, provision must always be made for uniformly treating the material. In some cases in order to obtain thorou hly satisfactory results the kier is not loade to its normal capacity with the result that the output of the kier is reduced. In some cases the chemicals are divided into two batches and the goods treated twice, often being removed between treatments and given a light wash before being replaced in the kier. Either method reduces the capacity of the kier considerably. In some cases satisfactory results are obtained with a single boil, although under the existing methods the time required to completely enetrate the mass of material is considerab e except in fabrics which are exceptionally easy to enetrate.

n my Patent 1,545,872, I have disclosed and claimed a novel method and apparatus to eliminate the foregoing dificulties wherein a combination of multiple vertical and horizontal, preferably radially outward flows of liquor through a packed mass of yarn, piece goods, raw stock or the like are secured. In my present invention I employ, as before, distributing inlets discharging within the mass of the goods, preferably near vor at the center thereof, through which liquor is forced under positive pump pressure. Two exits are provided for the liquors; the one a top exit or over-flow above the goods, and

the other a bottom exit, usually located in a well below a false bottom. By this means I secure a regulated .dual discharge, i. e. controlled outflow of liquors from the bottom and/or top of the kier. Thus, I secure, as in my previous kier, a combined horizontal and vertical flow of treating liquor; in the present case, however, the vertical liquor flow is divided so as to flow upward in the upper section and downward in the lower section of the kier.

The dividing line between the upward and downward Hows is of course not sharp and will vary in its location. Some of thc facts concerned in its location are (1) tightness of packing of goods in the kier (2) height of goods Vabove the center pipe (3) nature i. e. compactness or porosity of the material itself (4) adjustment of the valves on the upper and lower exits. Brieiiy my invention consists in forcing liquor in at a rate greater than that at which it flows downward through the material, or at a rate greater than that at which it is removed from the bottom of the kier.

The advantages of this kier may now be observed. There is always associated with bleach liquors of the peroxide type a liberation of gases such as oxygen in the form of bubbles. These bubbles which are not. an active bleach hinder the circulation since they tend to work upward while the liquor tends to flow downward. Furthermore, this and other free gases reduce the eliiciency of the pumps and the heaters. By providing an upward flow of a portion of the liquor, escape of these gases is assisted by continuously forcing a portion of the liquid to the free space above the goods.

A further advantage of my invention is vsecured in greater certainty of even treatment due to the fact that the liquor needs pass through only half as much goods on its way back to the pump inlet for a given kier size as previously. If the bleaching action was very rapid my invention would result in cutting down the time of treatment; in some treatments, other than bleaching, the time is reduced. However, the bleaching action has a time factor, i. e. the bleach liquor must be in contact with the goods for a more or less definite period of time. My method now lallows this bleach liquor to be recycled through the kier a greater number of times than before in the same period; this increase in recycling increases the certainty of even treatment.

My invention will be more particularly described in connection with the illustrations of kiers and circulating systems of adaptationsof my invention. These drawings show kiers having a portion of the wall cut away so as to show the internal arrangement, and having attached thereto the necessary pipes, pumps and heating system for securing my results.

Fig. I shows a kier having a single perforated liquor entrance. Fig. II shows a side-view and III an end view of a vat having several liquor entrances spaced from the kier wall. Fig. IV shows a kier provided with central and peripheral liquor inlets. Figs. V and VI show modifications of the liquor inlets.

The invention will be described with particular reference to Fig. I, but since like figures refer to the same or functionally identical parts in eacl kier, the operation of the various forms can be followed. The invcntion is fundamentally the same in each case.

l is a kier or vat provided with a false bottom 2 beneath which-is the well 3. A cover 7 is provided for use, if desired, for

example in boiling out cotton. This coveris fastened down by the hinge bolts 11. When bleaching with peroxide this cover is preferably not used, or is provided with a vent to allow of the escape of gases. Rings or hooks 20 are provided inside the 'kier for attaching cross, chains used to hold the goods in place. 16 is a steam heating system for the treating liquors. 22 is a circulating pump the inlet of which is at 23. The well 3 of the kier is provided with an outlet 4 having a drain valve 5; 4 is also connected to the pump line 6. The kier is further'provided with a perforated pipe or distributor 13 centrally located within the kier and connected by means of pipe 12 through valve 10 to the liquid feed pipe 9 coming from the heater 16. The liquid feed pipe 9 is connected through valve 8 to the pipe line 6 at 25. The kier is further provided with an over-flow 14, which leads, by way of valve 15, and pipe 21, to the pump line 6 at' 26. A valve 24 is provided in the pump line between the junction points 25 and 26. The pump 22 is connected y way of pipe 17 to the inlet of the heater 16. This is provided with a heating means, such as a steam coil connected to 18 and 19. The pump inlet line 6 is connected through valve 27 to suitable mixing tanks or other source of treating liquor supply.

The perforated pipe or distributor 13 may have any of several forms within the scope of this invention land I do not wish to be limited to a straight walled perforated pipe such as shown, nor do I wish to be limited to circular perforations. This distributor may A be ball shaped or have an rounded or irregular outline, suited or driving the streams of liquor in various diverging directions. The distributor 13 may' further be provided with perforations at the top of the pipe (Fig. V) which would increase the amount of liquor forced into the upper part of the kier load. The perforations in the distributor may be in the form of horizontal or vertical slits.' The perforations may further be made at an angle to the exterior of the distributor (Fig. VI) thus securing a flow which while in thel main would be toward the walls of the kier, nevertheless would be directed upward, e. g.v to secure an effect similar to that of a spherical distributor.

likewise the amount of liquor taken throughv The operation of my kier will be specifically described in connection with the form as shown in Fig. I having a single, central distributor 13 with horizontal round perforations although the operation and liquor flow is similar in all the kiers.

The goods to be treated are packed in the kier so as to be as uniformly distributed as possible and the material put in to fill the kier at least to the top of the pipe 13, whatfever its length may be, cross chains or the -like may be fastened to the rings 20 to hold the goods. It is to be noted that a short pipe could be'provided in place of 13 as shown for treating small batches of goods in a large capacity kier. In that event it would be more economical to have a second overflow located below 14 in the same relation to the top of the distributor as that shown in re-l spect to 13 in the attached drawing. The material packed in the kier should preferably not extend above the overflow 14.

The. start of the treating can be varied, but is preferably as follows:

Valves 5, 10, 15 and 24 are closed; valve 8 is open. Valve 27 is now opened, allowing the treating liquors from the supply vessels to pass through pump 22 which is started so as to force the liquor upthrough the'heater and-'by way of pipe 9 and valve 8 through pipe 4 into the well of the kier at 3. This is the usual method of entering liquor into the Awell of a kier since it allows the air to escape from the kier while the liquor is entering. If the mixing tank is situated high enough, by opening valve 24 the liquor would, of course flow into the kier by gravity. lVhen sufficient liquor has been added to reach to or above 14, valve 27 is closed and my circulating system isstarted.

Valves 10, 15 and 24 are now opened and valve 8 is closed thus allowing the liquor to be drawn through 14 and 4 to the pump 22 from which it is forced through pipe 17, heater 16, pipe 9, valves 10 to be discharged out of the perforated pipe or distributor 13. Some of the liquor in the goods will drain downward through the material to the woll 3, thence to the pump, thus securing in the lower section of the kier a combined horizontal and downward liow. The liquor inv excess of that flowing downward will flow, upward and leave the kier at 14. The amount of liquor taken from the well 3 can be regulated by opening or closing valve 24,

the overflow can be regulated by opening or closing valve 15. In other words since all of the liquor which is being discharged from pipe 13 is not allowed to escape through pipe 4 some of it will be forced to take an upward course and leave the kier through the overflow thus penetrating the goods in the upper section with a combinedhorizontal and upward flow.. The invention then is seen to consist in distributing streams of liquor within the mass of goods under positive pump pressure and maintaining a. regulated dual outflow securing a simultaneous horizontal, upward and downward flow.

The kier may be operated without utilizing the overflow 14 by closing valves 8 and 15. Since the liquor is discharged from 13 at a greater rate than it drains to the pump 22, and since some of the liquor will be displaced by gas remaining in the material it will collect on the top of the goods to some extent. It is of course realized that there is a definite amount of liquor in the kier, but there will be an increase in the height to which the liquor rises because of this contained gas. 'After circulating the liquor in this manner until a considerable quantity has been stored on top of the goods the pump can be stopped to allow the gas to escape and to allow the liquor to recede and reach its normal level, whereupon the pump can be started again and the cycle repeater, vThis can be also accomplished by reopening valve 15 to restore the dual discharge. y

. Another method of circulating the liquor which is advantageously used, is to draw the liquor through the overflow 14, valve 15 being open, down through pipe 21, valve 24 being closed, into pump 22, valve 27' being closed. thence through the heater 16, pipe 9, valve 10 being closed, down through valve 8, pipe 25 into the well of the kier through 4. The liquor would now pass upwards through the perforated bottom 2 and out at the overflow again at 14. If this circulation is used a readjustment of the goods placed in the kier is secured by pressure application in the direction opposite to the previous flow which thus assists in the even treatment of the material. This cycle further helps rid the kier of entrapped gases.

In case of treating liquors where large amounts of relatively inactive or free gases are not given off to an appreciable extent the pump may be run so as to exert 'a definite suction on the streams coming from the kier thus tending to speed up the flow, i. e. by securing a forced drainage from the well 3. In place of the pump a steam injector means discharging directly into the pipe 13 or connected thereto from outside the kier could be used for circulating liquid in the kier in accordance with .my invention.

By proper setting of the valves various circulating routes may be secured in my kier. as follows:

Route 7.-Treating liquor passes from the pump through 17, 16 ,and 9, valve v10, is discharged through 13 and returns to the pump by the dual route through 4 and 14.

Route 2 All of the liquor is drawn through 4 and valve 24 to pump 22then passes through 17, 16, k9 and valve 10 is discharged out of the sprayhead 13.`

Route 3.-All of the liquor is drawn through 14and valve 15, to the pump 22 from which it passes through 17, 16 and 9 from which it is divided, part going through valve 10 to be discharged from 13 and the balance going through valve 8 to be discharged into the goods through the well of the kier. The

amount of liquor discharged at either 13 or 4 can be'regulatcd by valves 10 and 8.

Route The same as Route 3 except that Valve 8 is closed.

Roue 5f-The same as Route 3 except that valve 10 is closed.

In Figures II and III the use of two inside distributors 13 is shown. In this case the heater 16 is omitted; the pump outlet 17 feeds directly into supply line 9. The heat necessary for the treating liquor is furnished through steam coil 28 having the openings 29 and 30. The operation is similar to that described above.

`taneously with the central inlet, withrthe 'liquors divided between the two in any desired ratio. 2. The central pipe 13 can be shut oli' entirely. 3. A definite cross path is also possible since liquor can be fed in at 31 and removed at 13 or in any single or combination removal involving eXits4 and 14.

The kiers of my invention are therefore seen to have the widest'fleXibilit-y and adaptability to goods of various degrees of compactness and difficulty of treatment.

Claims: v

1. Method of treating goods packedin a kier or the like which consists lin forcing multiple streams of treating liquor under positive pump pressure into the mass of goods at a rate greater than that at which liquor is removed from the bottom of the kier while simultaneously removing treating liquor from the top and bottom of the kier.

2. Method of treating goods packed in a kier or the like which consists in forcing multiple streams of treating liquor under positive pump pressure into the mass of goods at a rate .such as to create a generally horizontal and upward as well as a generally horizontal and downward flow of liquor in the goods.

3. Method of treating goods packed in a kier which consists in forcing multiple streams of treating liquor under positive pump'pressure into the center of the mass of goods while simultaneously removing treating liquor from the top and bottom of the kier.

4. Method of treating goods packed in a kier which consists in forcing multiple streams of treating liquor from within the mass outward toward the Walls of the kier at a rate greater than that at which the treating liquor Hows downward through the mass while simultaneously removing treating liquor from the top and bottom of the kier.

5. Method of treating goods packed in a kier which consists in forcing multiple streams of treating liquor from within the mass outward toward the walls of the kier at a rate greater than that at which the treating liquor is removed from the bottom of the kier while simultaneously removing treating liquor from the top and bottom of the kier.

6. Method of treating goods packed in a kier which consists in forcing multiple streams of treating liquor from within the mass outward toward the walls of the kier at a rate greater than that at which the treating liquor flows downward through the mass and maintaining a variable regulated discharge of the treating liquor from below and above the goods.

7 Method of treating goods packed in a kier or the like which consists in forcing multiple streams of treating liquor into the interior of the mass of goods and into the mass from the walls of the kier inward while simultaneously removing treating liquor from the top and bottom of the goods packed kier, an outlet from the kier below said false bottom and an outlet from said kier ata point above the top of said vertical pipe, means for circulating treating liquor, pipe means connecting the discharge of said circulating means with said vertical pipe, and

culating means with the outlets from the kier. 9. In combination with a kier or the like, means for introducing treating liquor into the central portion of a mass of material packed in said kier and discharging it outward toward the walls of the kier, means for removing treating liquor from said kier from above and below said mass of goods, means for circulating treating liquor, pipe means connecting the discharge of said circulating means with the means for introducing the treating liquor into the central portion of the mass of goods packed in said kier, and pipe means connecting the intake of said circulating means with the means for removing treating liquor from said kier from above and below said mass of goods.

' 10. In combination with a kier or the like,

.pipe means connecting the intake of said cirmeans for introducing treating liquor in substantially horizontally directed streams under positive pressure to points Within the mass of goods packed in a kier, means for removing variable amounts of treating liquor from the bottom of the kier, means for removing variable amounts of treating liquor from the top of the goods packed in said kier, means for circulating treating liquor, pipe means connecting the discharge of said circulating means with the means for introducing treating liquor to points Within the mass of goods packed in said kier, and pipe means connecting the intake of said circulat- 1l ing means with the means for removing treating liquor from the bottom of the kier and the means for removing variable amounts of treating liquor from the top of the goods packed in said kier. 0 11. In combination, a kier having a false bottom, a pump for circulating treating liquor, a heater for said liquor, pipe means leading from the discharge opening of said pump through the heater and discharging Within the kier at a point intermediate the top and bottom of the kier, pipe means leading from the Well of the kier below the false bottom to the intake of the pump and a pipe means leading from the upper portion of the kier above the discharge pipe Within the kier to said pump intake.

Signed at Perth Amboy in the county of Middlesex and State of New/Jersey this 18th day of May A. D. 1928.

THOMAS DOW AINSLIE'. 

